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Znaczenie dotacji inwestycyjnych w poszczególnych typach rolniczych gospodarstw rolnych
Investment subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy have significantly influenced the development of agricultural holdings in Poland. This impact has been observed both in financial terms, through the introduction of new non-refundable support instruments, and in organizational terms, related to improved working conditions and the modernization of farms’ technical base. It is therefore justified to examine the role of investment subsidies with regard to specific farming types. The aim of this study was to identify relationships between the amount of investment subsidies received, the level of investment, and production output in Polish agricultural holdings by farming type in 2007-2023. The analysis revealed significant differences in the level of investment support across farming types. The most highly subsidized included mixed farms, holdings specializing in pig production, and farms focused on permanent crops. In recent years, an increase in both investment support and investment expenditure has been observed in holdings oriented toward livestock production, particularly pig farming. This trend was related to the post-2014 focus of support programmes on piglet and milk production, as well as measures aimed at combating African swine fever (ASF).
Possibilities of Changes in Energy Intensity of Production Depending on the Scale of Farm Investments in a Polish Region
The purpose of this paper was to analyze the possibility of changes in energy intensity of production in the context of farm investment scale. The empirical section relies on unpublished FADN microdata. The study answers the question of whether investments and fixed capital growth can contribute to improvements in environmental performance of agricultural production. As it turns out, the group of farms with the greatest amount of investments saw an increase in energy consumption costs, though at a much slower rate than growth in production value. As a result, there was a drop in energy intensity of production, defined as the ratio between energy costs and production value. These findings corroborate the hypothesis advanced in this study, namely that upon reaching a sufficiently large amount of investments, farms can become capable of reducing the energy intensity of their production activity. Hence, higher levels of capital productivity are attained when the farms invest in more energy-efficient fixed assets. Conclusions cannot be universal, as the analysis involved a portion of selected farms. However, the research indicates a trend in the study of energy intensity of production depending on the scale of investment and the validity of the investment comprehensiveness approach. These conclusions provide a basis for recommendations for an agricultural policy which should include support for investments that are large and comprehensive (in relation to the farm’s assets) and go beyond the simple renewal of assets. Therefore, in its investment-oriented measures, the agricultural policy should take the innovativeness (including energy efficiency) criterion into account.
Changes in Farm Production in the Context of Overinvestment: A Case Study from Poland
Investments are the development core of every economic operator and the driving force for national economic development. While finding the optimal investment point is extremely difficult, every operator may seek to attain a level of fixed assets which allows them to maintain an increase in production and keep their income flowing. The difficulties in finding this optimum may lead to overinvestment. Hence, this paper estimates the parameters of the production function at various investment levels. Its purpose is to identify the relationship between the investment levels, the use of productive inputs, and growth or decline in production (output) levels. This study used microdata for 3273 Polish farms, as retrieved from the FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network). The differences found at various farm investment levels allow for highlighting some problematic areas, e.g., in the context of excessive capital use relative to yearly increments in production values. The proposed method of analyzing overinvestment based on the production function can be extended to other countries. According to this paper, farms that invested too little or too much in relation to their production potential showed the worst economic performances, including the greatest declines in production.
Agricultural production in the least developed countries and its impact on emission of greenhouse gases - An energy approach
State, agriculture and agricultural interventions - mutual relationships
This paper analyzes mutual relationships between the institution of the state, agriculture, and agricultural interventions. It primarily adopts a historical (retrospective) approach, starting by identifying the socioeconomic importance of agriculture, and then moving to the relationships between agriculture and the state. The final section focuses on the importance of state interventionism in agriculture, taking into consideration both historical events and specific (mostly environmental) challenges of the present. The authors relied on the relevant literature on agricultural interventionism and on mutual relationships between the state and agriculture. Despite a number of deficiencies, it is essential for the state to be actively involved in the agricultural sector. The regulatory activities carried out include not only the real impact on agricultural production (its volume and quality), but also affect issues of agriculture’s impact on the environment and social life. By assuring basic security, the state enables the emergence of farming innovations which are a necessary driver of agricultural development, which, moreover, must be conditioned by the unknown environmental problems present in the past. Moreover, the production and distribution of food alone represents one of the fundamental dimensions of security and is a guarantor of full economic growth.
Natural and Anthropogenic Determinants of Productivity, Emission Intensity and Environmental Efficiency of Central Asian Countries Against a Worldwide Background
The study is devoted to determining the factors affecting the volume of agricultural production, the ability to meet the food needs of populations, as well as the environmental efficiency of production, defined as the ratio of the number of kilocalories produced by the agricultural sector to the amount of greenhouse gasses it emits. Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) were chosen as an example. They are characterized by similar natural conditions (mainly dry, continental climate, and the dominant role of permanent grassland in agricultural land use), as well as a common economic history (as former republics of the USSR). As shown in this study, land productivity and environmental efficiency of production depend on natural factors, while the actual ability to meet each nation’s food needs depends on human activity, including primary measures taken to improve environmental efficiency within natural limits.
Plant Protection and Fertilizer Use Efficiency in Farms in a Context of Overinvestment: A Case Study from Poland
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between plant protection and fertilizer use efficiency, on one side, and overinvestment in Polish agriculture, on the other. This is an important topic because of a number of essential issues, such as the concern for the environment, the development of sustainable agriculture, or the need to ensure food security which can only be achieved by keeping production volumes at least at the same level. Reconciling these goals often requires investment which, however, involves the risk of overinvesting, i.e., a situation where the value of assets grows without a proportional increment in labor productivity. This paper uses the author’s own method of farm classification by overinvestment level. The study revealed some differences in the cost intensity of fertilizing and using plant-protection products between investment levels. The most rational results were found in farms at optimum investment levels, whereas the greatest cost intensity was recorded in farms affected by overinvestment.
Variability in Levels of Investment, Investment Subsidies, and Costs in Polish Farms Depending on the Type of Agricultural Production
Nieefektywne inwestycje - problem przeinwestowania na przykładzie polskich gospodarstw rolnych w warunkach Wspólnej Polityki Rolnej
Celem opracowania była ocena skali zjawiska przeinwestowania w środki trwałe polskich gospodarstw rolnych w warunkach wsparcia funduszami Wspólnej Polityki Rolnej. Przeinwestowanie rozumiane było jako wzrost technicznego uzbrojenia pracy, któremu nie towarzyszy adekwatna poprawa wydajności pracy. Ocenie poddano 3273 gospodarstwa rolne pod kątem ich przeinwestowania, wykorzystując do jego pomiaru autorską metodę. Następnie zbadano skutki tego zjawiska. Przeanalizowano między innymi produkcję, koszty, dochody, zasoby czynników produkcji i ich relacje. Stwierdzono występowanie przeinwestowania w części badanych gospodarstw, w szczególności korzystających ze wsparcia inwestycyjnego Wspólnej Polityki Rolnej. Charakteryzowały się one gorszymi wynikami ekonomicznymi, co w przyszłości może rodzić problemy finansowe. Uzyskane wyniki znacząco pogłębiają prowadzone dotychczas badania na temat przeinwestowania w gospodarstwach rolnych. Ponadto mogą być też wykorzystane jako rekomendacja dla polityki rolnej, dla lepszego monitorowania rozdysponowania środków pomocowych dedykowanych rolnictwu.
Mitigating the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on global food security – does the transit of Ukrainian cereals through Poland matter?
The article presents the results of empirical research, which constitutes a case study focused on the route through Poland as an alternative export channel for Ukrainian grain, developed under the conditions of the Russia-Ukraine war. It employs analytical methods and statistical description. By analyzing the volume, dynamics, structure, and geography of the transit, the significance of this route in unleashing Ukraine's export capabilities and its role as a substitute for traditional routes during periods of disruption is assessed. It was established that almost exclusively corn and wheat are transited (in a quantitative ratio of 2:1). The railway crossings in Dorohusk, Medyka, and Hrubieszów are of key importance, as rail transport dominates in land transport, handling over 4/5 of the total mass of transited goods. More than half of the transited grain is transported by rail and road in scattered European directions, and only less than half reaches Polish Baltic ports, mainly Gdańsk (over 3/5) and Szczecin (almost 1/5). The degree of containerization exceeds 1/4. Practically all container cargo reaches the terminal in Gdańsk, while the port in Szczecin is the leader in bulk transport. The volume of Ukrainian grain transited through Poland is relatively small compared to Ukraine's export potential, and intercontinental transport concerns only a tenth of the grain transited through Poland. It was concluded that the route through Poland primarily serves as a new export channel for Ukrainian grain to the European market and only marginally substitutes traditional routes.
Environmental Efficiency of Agriculture in Visegrád Group Countries vs. the EU and the World
The production of foodstuffs for an ever-increasing population is the basic, irreducible and unalienable function of agriculture. It involves environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions. This is what makes it so important to examine the levels of environmental efficiency of agriculture. As countries differ in their emission levels, it is reasonable to look for what determines them. Hence, the purpose of this study was to identify the changes in the environmental efficiency of agriculture in Visegrád Group countries and worldwide in 1961–2020. These countries share a similar economic history and demonstrate comparable environmental and geographic conditions, making it possible to pinpoint the factors responsible for how the parameters covered by the study change over time. The research used data from the FAOSTAT database. Environmental efficiency of agriculture was defined as the relationship between production volumes in kilocalories and emissions. Initially, this parameter deteriorated in the Visegrád countries, but since the late 1970s it has improved, first linked to the crisis of the socialist economy and its collapse (including a drastic decline in livestock production) and then to the implementation of CAP instruments.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Efficiency in Polish Agriculture
Analysis of the efficiency of greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture is an important part of agricultural and environmental economics research. The theme is extremely important due to the deepening problem of climate change and the simultaneous need to ensure food security. However, counteracting climate change cannot be achieved at the expense of reducing agricultural productivity. Due to the need to study the economic-environmental relationship in agriculture, the main purpose of this study was to assess the changes in the level and structure of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and to examine the changes in efficiency of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. The authors also estimated the relative efficiency of emissions, which allowed for comparing the efficiency of emissions between agriculture and other sectors of the national economy. Analyzing the changes in agricultural emissions efficiency, as well as changes in relative efficiency of emissions, is an indirect way of assessing whether the ongoing trends are consistent with the sustainable development concept and if the country is effective enough in mitigating climate change in relation to its economic performance. The research conducted showed that agriculture has a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions among all sectors of the Polish economy. However, greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture decreased by a total of 23.5% in the years studied. The most significant changes occurred in the context of greenhouse gas emissions from intestinal fermentation. The research also shows that the efficiency of emissions from agriculture more than doubled in the years examined. However, it decreased compared to other sectors of the economy in the country. This study was based on emissions data retrieved from National Inventory Reports prepared by the National Center for Emissions Management and on the Agricultural Statistical Yearbooks of the Central Statistical Office. This paper also proposes some examples of measures that could be taken to reduce agricultural emissions. Some of them include reducing food losses, sustainable use of fertilizers, increasing energy efficiency, and greater use of renewable energy.